United Pentecostal Pastor Ronald Terry Litz: Child Sexual Assault

This is Part 32 of an ongoing series on sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church. Ronald Terry Litz, now 82 years old and living in Glenn Heights, Texas, was born August 11, 1937 and at the time of his sex crimes he was married with three older children, and was the pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, which was actually in Riverside near Danville. He was living at 702 Fifth Street in Riverside, Pennsylvania and had been the pastor for ten years. The sexual charges against him involved three different teenage boys. The church later became known as Landmark Apostolic Church and Kevin Schramm had been the pastor since May 2008. The name changed once again in the 2020s to Victory Life Church where Aaron Wright is currently the pastor in 2024.

Ronald Terry Litz
Ronald Terry Litz

Ronald Terry Litz, who has gone by his middle name for decades, was the vice-president of the 1963 24 member graduating class of ABI (Apostolic Bible Institute in Minnesota, a UPCI endorsed Bible college). That year, he and his wife, Martha May Litz, were the new Hobby Club Directors working under Mrs. S.G. Norris. (S.G. Norris was the college President.)

It is unknown to me when Litz obtained his United Pentecostal Church license as my older UPCI Directory collection is limited. He is not seen in the editions I have from the 50s and I have none from the 60s. As he was one of their Bible college graduates, one could guess that he may have received license in the 1960s. The 1972-73 Directory has him with a general license in Ohio and the 1975-76 Directory lists him as an ordained minister. There he was the pastor of the Lake Breeze Apostolic Church of Lorain (screen shot of a 1975 ad), a non-affiliated church. (Any church whose pastor is licensed by the UPCI is considered a UPCI church. They can go a step further and have a legal affiliation with the organization. This church did not.) I did find a 1971 ad from an Ohio church in the same town. I have a few directories from the 1980s, starting with 1981 where he is listed as living in Riverside, Pennsylvania and was the pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, a non-affiliated church in Northumberland County.

I did find a mention of him and the church in a 1978 newspaper article, making him the pastor since at least that year. He is last seen in the 1987 Directory, where his wife was listed as the Ladies Auxiliary Secretary for the Pennsylvania District. In the late 1980s while Litz was pastor, Bill Woodruff, a 1986 ABI graduate, became the Youth Pastor, a Sunday School teacher and a church bus driver at the Danville Apostolic Church, though he did not hold license. After Litz was arrested, Harold I. Lloyd, a United Pentecostal minister with just a local license, became the acting pastor. He is no longer listed as a UPCI minister. No pastor is listed for the church in the 1988 UPCI Directory but in 1989, the church became affiliated while Seth Avery became the new pastor. He is now in Oklahoma.

Ronald Terry Litz
Ronald Terry Litz

The Pennsylvania newspapers started covering Terry Litz’s cases in September of 1987. He was 50 years old when arrested on September 3 and was out on $50,000 bail by the next day. He was arraigned on Friday, October 23, 1987 in Luzerne County, where he entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial. His crimes against two boys occurred at the United Pentecostal Church’s Pennsylvania District church camp in Fairmount Township between December 1986 and September 1987. This was in Red Rock in Luzerne County along Route 118. Terry Litz had taken the boys to the camp to help with maintenance chores, where he fondled them and engaged in oral and anal sex.

The two boys were members of the Danville Apostolic Church. Reports varied as to their ages, with one stating both were 15, another said they were 14 and one claimed they were 14 and 15. The charges, filed by the State Police, were involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. Litz voluntarily resigned as a United Pentecostal minister soon after charges were filed. L. Daniel Garlitz was the Pennsylvania District Superintendent at this time and confirmed that Terry Litz had resigned as pastor and turned in his ministerial credentials. Litz’s wife and 18 year old daughter soon moved to Texas to live with Terry and Martha’s two other daughters.

On March 8, 1988, Terry Litz plead guilty to three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and five counts each of indecent assault and corruption of minors. He did this as part of a plea agreement that had been discussed with the families of both boys, where the District Attorney was to recommend that he only serve the sentence on one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. The other charges were to run concurrently with this. Whatever time he was to serve in this case, was to run concurrently with a case from Northumberland County. If the judge were to decline the District Attorney’s recommendations, Litz was free to withdraw his guilty pleas.

A sentencing date of May 25, 1988 was set. Michael Dennehy was his attorney, Ann Lokuta was the assistant district attorney and Gifford S. Cappellini, now deceased, was the judge. (See the March 9, 1988 article in PDF format.) In 1992 Lokuta became a judge and was removed from office in 2008 after charges were made against her in 2006 by the Judicial Conduct Board.

Your conduct will require confinement for further protection of young children in our community. Your actions have caused grave emotional consequences for the victims. You were an authority figure and took advantage of young children. – Judge Gifford S. Cappellini in sentencing Ronald Terry Litz

There was a separate criminal case in Northumberland County, where in another plea arrangement Terry Litz plead guilty on February 4, 1988 to three counts of corrupting the morals of minors. Sentencing was scheduled for May but was later postponed until June. The original charges, filed by Riverside Patrolman Steve Watkins, involved three counts of the corruption of morals of a minor and three counts of indecent assault for the oldest victim and one count of each of the same charges for the youngest victim. This involved one of the 15 year old boys from the Luzerne County case, as well as a 14 year old. Litz assaulted the boys in the church office and in Litz’s home. The 15 year old boy’s assault happened on two different days in August 1986. The other was for a July 1987 assault on the 14 year old. The police investigation of these cases caused them to discover the Luzerne County cases.

On March 24, 1988 Jerome Cohen, of the District Attorney’s office, requested a mandatory five year prison sentence, which Litz’s attorney claimed went against the plea agreement where he was orally promised that they would not recommend the mandatory prison time. Dennehy filed a motion to have the judge order them to withdraw it. The District Attorney’s office agreed to withdraw the demand.

Ronald Terry Litz
Ronald Terry Litz 11/10/04

On May 25, 1988, Ronald Terry Litz was sentenced in Luzerne County to two years minus one day to five years minus two days, with five years of probation to follow. He reported to the jail on May 31. The judge told him, “Your conduct will require confinement for further protection of young children in our community. Your actions have caused grave emotional consequences for the victims. You were an authority figure and took advantage of young children. I’ve considered the impact of public shame and humiliation not only to you but to your wife and family. (But) a lessor sentence would depreciate the seriousness of your crimes.” His time was to be served in the Luzerne County Jail instead of state prison, which is why the five year sentence was made to be minus two days. He also received a concurrent sentence of 11 to 23 months on the five counts of indecent assault. He had faced up to twenty years on each of the felony charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as a $25,000 fine.

Litz shared that after serving his sentence, he planned to leave Pennsylvania and volunteered to do community service by speaking to high school groups and civic organizations about sexual abuse. For six weeks prior to sentencing (one report stated three months), Litz underwent weekly psychiatric counseling in a Louisiana hospital, where he claimed he “was able to understand [his] problem.” He continued to attend church. Terry Litz’s attorney admitted that Litz had a problem for years and was molested by an older man when he was twelve years old. Litz expressed remorse for his actions to the victims, his “family, community and profession.” Litz shared that his wife left him, but at some point they got back together after he was released from prison. They own a home and have been together in Texas for many years. He first registered as a sex offender in Glenn Heights on October 31, 1999.

I have tried my best to correct my mistake. All I’m asking is that you have mercy on me. – Ronald Terry Litz, convicted pedophile

On June 28, 1988, for the Northumberland County charges, Judge Samuel Ranck sentenced Ronald Terry Litz to six to 23 months on the three counts of corrupting the morals of minors. It was to run consecutive to the Luzerne County sentence, followed by three years of probation. This was to be served in the Northumberland County Jail after his other sentence was completed. Judge Rank felt Litz received a break in the other cases considering the nature of the charges.

Litz claimed he had visited two psychiatrists prior to his arrest as he had been feeling “urges inside.” He said, “I have tried my best to correct my mistake. All I’m asking is that you have mercy on me.” (Where was his mercy toward the boys while repeatedly assaulting them?) Litz’s attorney submitted a letter showing that he had attended more meetings than required by normal therapy. Also submitted were letters in support of Litz, including a therapist who had placed him on Lithium and a pastor in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, where he lived for awhile after his arrest. At that time, there was one United Pentecostal Church in Belle Chasse, an affiliated one where James Comeaux was, and still is, listed as the pastor. (See the June 29, 1988 article, page one and page two, in PDF format.)

It is draining to compose these articles and my heart grieves for the survivors and their families, as well as the family members of these predators who are innocent of wrongdoing. When I read that a predator considered multiple sexual assaults involving three boys as a “mistake,” I could not help but think that this person is not truly remorseful and has not accepted responsibility for their actions. He reminds me of the alleged pedophile, Steven J. Dahl, who wrote on December 9, 2013, “I made a lot of mistakes, that cost me my future as far as being a minister for the organization.” Assaulting anyone isn’t a “mistake,” but a reprehensible criminal act – a devastatingly life-altering violation of an individual. His attorney said that Terry Litz had a problem for years. One can only ask, and wonder, how many victims were there before these three? Are there any from when he was a pastor in Ohio? What about his days at ABI in Minnesota? Have there been any victims since his release? These are questions to which we may never know the answers as all too many assaults go unreported and history has shown that pedophiles repeat their behavior.

Articles:
Scrantonian Tribune: June 29, 1988
Daily Item: September 4, 1987 & May 27, 1988
Citizens’ Voice: May 27, 1988 & June 30, 1988
Danville News: September 15, 1987, March 9, 1988, May 26, 1988 & June 29, 1988
Times Leader: March 9, 1988, March 25, 1988, May 11, 1988, July 1, 1988, October 20, 1987 & October 24, 1987

Texas public Sex Offender Website – (partial screen shot) His information was last verified on January 29, 2024 by the Glenn Heights Police Department.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

United Pentecostal Youth Leader Diego Rodriguez: Child Sex Crimes

This is Part 31 of an ongoing series on sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church.

Diego Antonio Rodriguez
Diego Antonio Rodriguez

Diego Antonio Rodriguez, born August 13, 1994, was a youth leader at Apostolic Faith Church, a United Pentecostal Church located at 3045 Airline Rd, Racine, WI where James Schumacher, born October 4, 1946, has been the pastor for decades. (new website as Michael Portman became the pastor after this article was written, though Schumacher is still there) Diego Rodriguez didn’t hold license with the UPCI, but he had preached at this church.

Diego Antonio Rodriguez
Diego Antonio Rodriguez

On June 11, 2015, he made his first court appearance where he was charged with one count of using a computerized communication system to facilitate a child sex crime (948.075 1r, a Class C felony) and three counts of sexual intercourse with a male child (948.09, Class A misdemeanor). He was 20 years old at the time of the crimes, while his victim, born in November 1998, was 16. This is case 2015CF000730 in Waukesha County. After his arrest, the church quickly scrubbed their website and social media of pictures and mentions of Diego. It is unknown to me how long he had been working with the youth.

Rodriguez met the boy in early 2015 through a phone application called Grindr, a gay social network. He claimed that the boy shared he was 18, but at the first sexual encounter at a home in Waukesha, he discovered he was 16. It happened two additional times at other locations after this, so Rodriguez was aware that a crime was being committed. The victim stated that he was a willing participant and was neither threatened, nor forced.

Diego Antonio Rodriguez
Diego Antonio Rodriguez

In April 2015, Rodriguez used Grindr to chat with another boy who was 15-years-old, though this time it was a Waukesha police detective in an undercover sex sting. The online contact continued through June, even though the detective warned him he could go to jail. He requested pictures and let him know he wanted a sexual encounter as well as a “three-way.”

On June 8, Rodriguez asked to meet at the Wendy’s restaurant on Moreland, where police arrested him while he was parked across the street. After the arrest, he admitted to knowing that what was planned was a crime. Prior to his arrest the officer posing as the boy had asked him asked if 15 was too young and if people could be arrested and Rodriguez replied that they could.

He entered an initial plea of not guilty and since his $25,000 bond was never paid, he remained imprisoned.

A trial was eventually scheduled for December 15, 2015, but was cancelled as a plea agreement was in process. On January 22, 2016, Diego Rodriguez changed his plea to that of being guilty on the first count of the charges, which was the felony of using Grindr to facilitate a child sex crime. The three sexual intercourse misdemeanors were dismissed, but read into the court record.

Diego Antonio Rodriguez
Diego Antonio Rodriguez 11-17-22

On April 4, 2016, Judge Ralph Ramirez sentenced Diego Rodriguez to ten years, with five of those to be served in prison and five under extended supervision. He was ordered to register as a sex offender through June 3, 2040. He was to have no contact with the victim, nor was he permitted to have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. He is not allowed to have pornographic or explicit material, nor is he allowed to have a computer or anything that can access the Internet unless permission is given. He also had to submit a DNA sample and pay a few hundred dollars in court fees. Rodriguez remains incarcerated as of the writing of this article.

James Schumacher
James Schumacher

An aspect of this case which is especially troublesome is that on the Fox news report article, a person claiming to be a former member of the church alleged, “The problem is that the pastor did know that this issue existed because, in addition to members bringing rumors to the pastor, Diego himself went to him and admitted it, looking for help. The response was to sweep it under the rug, allow Diego to continue working with the youth, and intimidate everyone into silence. Dig deeper into this church’s history. This isn’t the first time this has happened there and unless someone intervenes, it won’t be the last.”

Timothy Patrick Gregory
Timothy Patrick Gregory

I had already known years earlier that this wasn’t the first child sex assault case of which Pastor James E. Schumacher has been aware. There were at least two others involving Timothy Patrick Gregory, a previously convicted child sex offender who the pastor allowed to teach Sunday School. He is currently incarcerated. It was alleged that pastor James Schumacher encouraged the parents to not report Gregory and even threatened to excommunicate the family members of the victims, sisters who were ages 12 and 8 at the time of the assaults in 1997. Schumacher admitted to not doing a background check on Gregory and stated, “We are a Christian church. The Bible says we need to forget the past.” James Schumacher, like some other United Pentecostal Church ministers, failed to report these assaults to the police or Child Protective Services. Since the law in Wisconsin allows for the legal loophole of claiming clergy privilege, he was permitted to do this.

Articles:
Waukesha man, a youth leader at a church, accused of having sexual relations with teen boy – July 14, 2015 (includes video)
Police arrest church youth leader after underage sex sting – July 15, 2015 (includes video- click on the watch on mobile link)
Church leader pleads guilty to using app for child sex in Waukesha – January 26, 2016
Church leader pleads guilty to using app for child sex in Waukesha – January 29, 2016
Waukesha man, former church youth leader, gets prison for sex with minor – April 19, 2016
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access
Diego Rodriguez sex offender status

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

United Pentecostal Pastor Howard Wayne Geck & Failure To Report

Jasper Apostolic ChurchThis is part 30 of an ongoing series dealing with sexual abuse and the United Pentecostal Church. Back in late May, I wrote about the criminal charges against Dexter Lee Hensley for child sexual abuse involving more than one victim. The assaults are alleged to have occurred during the period of January 2012 through December 2015 and at least some, if not all, happened at the Jasper Apostolic Church (listed as Apostolic UPC, Inc. in the United Pentecostal Church Directory and located at 231 Hillside Drive in Jasper, Indiana) where the pastor is Howard Wayne Geck. The church operates  Jasper Christian Academy, a small school located at the church.

New Life United Pentecostal ChurchHoward Geck, born July 27, 1956, also pastors New Life United Pentecostal Church (104 W. 3rd Avenue in Huntingburg), an affiliated UPCI church.

The previous pastor of the Jasper church was Judith C. Branam, who appears to have been the pastor when the alleged assaults occurred. Branam founded the Jasper Apostolic UPC and the Jasper Christian Academy. Howard Geck, who married Branam’s daughter, Kim, became the pastor in 2016 according to UPCI Directories. It is unknown whether Branam was ever aware of these or any other possible allegations against Hensley.

Jasper Apostolic Church
Jasper Apostolic Church

Howard Geck was pastor when the guardian of the girls reported the abuse to him at some point in 2017.  On May 20, 2019, the guardian of the victims “confirmed that about two (2) years ago, she was made aware of the inappropriate touching and that she reported the abuse to the church pastor, Brother Geck.” Dexter Hensley was a member of the church. She went on to say that she and Pastor Geck met with Hensley and “that the issue was taken care of.”

Pastor Howard Geck never informed the police or Child Protective Services of the abuse, even though everyone in the state of Indiana is a mandated reporter. Too many of these pastors have the mistaken notion that they are somehow qualified to investigate and handle sexual assault cases. Instead of reporting them, they choose to handle them ‘in house’ and this is exactly what appears to have happened in this instance.

Howard Wayne Geck
Howard Wayne Geck

On June 26, 2019, United Pentecostal pastor Howard Wayne Geck was charged in Dubois Circuit Court with a Class B misdemeanor, 31-33-22-1(a), for failing to report this case of sexual assault after he learned of it. This is case number 19C01-1906-CM-000628. Due to the seriousness of failing to report, as it gives opportunity for perpetrators to continue to harm others and brings no justice for victims, you would think that the penalty for this would be at least somewhat severe, especially when it involves a minister. Apparently that is not the case.

Probable cause was found and an initial hearing was scheduled for July 23, 2019, which was later waived. A pretrial conference was then scheduled for August 13. It was cancelled because on July 30, 2019, a pretrial diversion agreement was filed and all Howard Geck had to do was pay the court $454.00.

This was a case where, in my opinion, there was no doubt that Geck had been notified of the abuse two years prior and he chose to not report. Have there been any other cases where he has acted similarly but they have not come to light? Since the penalty was so little, will he or others choose to do so again in the future?

Why did the United Pentecostal Church not step in and revoke his license or at the very least remove him from any positions in the organization? Yet, this isn’t a total surprise as when two UPC ministers in California were convicted in the 1990s of failure to report, they retained their licenses and positions and one even later moved up in the organization and is now a District Superintendent. (I speak of Arthur Hodges and George Nobbs.) Their case even brought about change in California state law.

Nothing happened to Colorado pastor Dannie Hood, who chose not to report or testify in the case of Jessie Klockenbrink (though he legally was permitted to do so by claiming the loophole of clergy privilege).

They appear to have done nothing about the numerous child sexual abuse allegations surrounding Calvary Gospel Church in Madison, Wisconsin that goes back decades, despite our numerous articles, as well as those by several others, including the Capital Times. We’ve written about other allegations involving churches and ministers where men still retain their licenses.

I have heard from more than one source that at the past General Conference this September,  the UPCI adopted a position paper about ministers and reporting such cases, though it has yet to be released to the general public. Will action truly be taken against any of their ministers, no matter their status, their Apostolic pedigree, or how much money they give, if they fail to report sexual abuse to police or have committed sexual crimes themselves?

Is David Bernard, the current General Superintendent, going to do what is right and thoroughly investigate all these cases and remove ministers from their ranks who fail to report, as well as those who have committed sexual assault that may not have been reported to police and prosecuted? David Bernard is an attorney, and while he may not have ever dealt with such cases as a lawyer, I believe he does understand the seriousness of this issue. While I am in disagreement with the UPCI on many things, I personally believe that Bernard has helped the organization and has made some positive changes as they are in a much better situation now than before he became their leader. He has also made some brief statements about sexual abuse and the need to report and support victims. This issue is one that he absolutely must address and do so publicly in order that all those attending UPCI churches are made aware of what the UPCI expects their ministers to do when it comes to sexual abuse and the consequences that must consistently happen to ministers who fail to do what is right.

As to Dexter Hensley, on November 18, 2019, a change of plea hearing was scheduled for December 17. Hensley had originally entered a plea of not guilty. It would appear that a plea agreement may have been reached. A new court date of January 27, 2020 is scheduled for acceptance of his plea and sentencing.

Articles:
Pastor charged with failing to report child molestation
Pastor charged with failure to report
Dubois Co. pastor arrested after failing to report alleged child abuse – Includes video
Jasper Pastor Charged With Failing to Report Child Sexual Abuse Cases

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

Debbie McNulty’s Podcast Interview – Calvary Gospel Church Sex Abuse Survivor

I have written extensively about Debbie McNulty’s childhood sexual abuse by alleged perpetrator Steven J. Dahl while she was a member of Calvary Gospel Church, a United Pentecostal Church in Madison, Wisconsin, where John W. Grant was the pastor. (He now calls himself a bishop.) There are others from CGC who were allegedly abused by various men in the church. Below is a list of the articles that will give extensive details about this case:

A UPC Church Responds To Sexual Abuse
A Pastor Who Should Not Have Been Part 1
A Pastor Who Should Not Have Been Part 2
A Pastor Who Should Not Have Been Part 3
UPCI Ministers Embrace Alleged Pedophile Part 1
UPCI Ministers Embrace Alleged Pedophile Part 2
One Woman Remembers Steven Dahl’s UPCI Connection
A Day Of Reckoning For Calvary Gospel Church

In September 2019 a two hour podcast interview with Debbie was released by a group where normally “atheist and agnostic Ex-Christians share their stories of deconversion.” While she considers herself neo-pagan, they made an exception in Debbie’s case and included her story in one of their podcasts. There are many who have experienced spiritual abuse who have walked away from Christianity and with what Debbie endured, it is no surprise that she is not a Christian. We previously shared this interview on social media but I want to provide some additional information about what is covered so that potential listeners will have a better idea of what is included and so that some, who may not have two hours to listen, might be able to skip to a section that interests them.

In the first 55 minutes, Debbie shares about herself concerning her past and when she started questioning the teachings of her former church as well as the Bible. Some may not like the discussion about the Bible, but don’t allow that to stop you from hearing her story. Debbie had a childhood that she describes as “marinated in fear” and speaks about her complex PTSD after years of watching films like A Thief In The Night and hearing sermon after sermon about the rapture, end-times and people being left behind. She was very involved at Calvary Gospel Church, was a student in the church operated school that was held in their basement and was also a Bible quiz captain. (Bible quizzing is very popular in some United Pentecostal churches.) At home, things were often difficult and troublesome as they were poor and her parents divorced after her dad committed adultery. She later found herself in an abusive marriage while attending a Baptist church. She was in her early 20s when she was questioning the Bible and felt that the book of Genesis fell apart upon examination, which lead her to reject it all.

Debbie at 11 years old

At about the 55 minute mark she begins speaking about her childhood sexual abuse and Steven Dahl, now of Oconto, Wisconsin and pastor of the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church, which meets in the old VFW building that was donated to the church. Debbie shows how she was groomed as an 11 year old and how he would complain to her about his marriage (he hadn’t been married long when Debbie’s abuse began) and how his wife wouldn’t have sex while fasting. During their first time together, he held her hand and then asked for a kiss, which she gave him on the nose. He allegedly responded that it wasn’t the type of kiss he wanted. Over time things escalated. Debbie felt responsible for the sexual abuse she endured when she was eleven and twelve years old. She shares that at twelve he unsuccessfully attempted to have intercourse with her.

Steven Dahl 1990s

Debbie was working with a 19-year-old at a church popcorn wagon when one day she suddenly blurted out what was happening. The teen asked questions of her and then told a minister and his wife from Calvary Gospel Church, whom she was living with, and they told her to tell Debbie that if she didn’t inform the pastor, that they would. Debbie had to make an appointment with pastor John W. Grant in order to tell him what was being done to her. Grant never spoke to her about it again after this meeting. A few days later is when Debbie received a phone call from Steven Dahl, saying he was leaving town and that it wasn’t her fault. At the next church service, she found out about him being caught in bed with his wife’s minor sister, Alice. They later married soon after Alice turned 18.

McNulty goes on to talk about the #churchtoo movement and mentioned that she hadn’t seen any United Pentecostal related stories. She started feeling that she had to tell her story, including the names of those involved and the church. At about the 1:22 mark she mentions my website and how she discovered she was not alone and that girls she had once babysat for had also been sexually abused. She became angry, sad and frustrated. All of this lead to her starting a private CGC support group on Facebook that started with about eight people and at the time of the interview had grown to 25 members.

At the 1:28 mark they speak about the Assembly bills in Wisconsin that hope to change the laws regarding child sexual abuse and remove the clergy privilege loophole that enables ministers to fail to report. Debbie spoke about how she and some others met with members of the Assembly and told them their stories of abuse. This meeting lead to a visit with the Madison police chief as well as to some investigative stories published by the Capital Times and written by Katelyn Ferral. On August 7, 2019, Debbie McNulty and another childhood sexual abuse survivor from Calvary Gospel Church, Rebecca Martin Byrd, both spoke at the press meeting that announced the Assembly bills. They were subsequently interviewed by some media outlets. At the 1:49 mark the interviewer is asking Debbie various questions and they speak about how Dahl had removed things from the Internet and how her husband confronted Dahl on his Facebook profile. She shared how Steven Dahl admits to adultery, but not that it allegedly happened due to sexually assaulting minors.

Debbie’s story is important and should be heard and known by others. Calvary Gospel Church has an alarming number of child sexual abuse survivors going back decades and these need to be investigated. No church should be permitted to enable, cover-up, turn a bind eye to, or fail to report instances of sexual abuse, especially those which happen to minor children. The United Pentecostal Church has many more instances of sexual abuse than their leaders and members realize or will admit to. While the organization is pretty small in North America, (Bernard stated in the January 2020 issue of Pentecostal Life that their North American churches only have an attendance of about 600,000 people and an estimated constituency of 800,000 as of August 2019.) these accounts of sexual abuse are just as alarming as those of the Catholic or Baptist churches.

Steve Dahl 11-23-22 Facebook

Known as ‘The Rev,’ Steve Dahl runs The Rev Oconto Car Club Facebook Group (started September 28, 2021). He organizes Car N Tunes events in Wisconsin and at the annual Oconto Fly-In Car & Tractor Show (He also runs or helps run that Facebook Page, which started February 16, 2018), where he has served as emcee and DJ at the event for thirteen years. The next Fly-In date is September 21, 2024.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

Book Giveaway – Christianity Without The Cross

As with all of our giveaways, this is only open to those with a USA mailing address.

The matter of the Westberg Resolution underscores a serious dilemma in the constitutional structure of the United Pentecostal Church.  . . .Issues like this resolution are decisions made by a minority on behalf of the majority which is extremely ‘problematic in terms of policy-making.’  . . .The following group of ministers have been identified as among the constituency of this group which carries the banner of doctrinal uniformity: R.D. Whalen, the late David F. Gray, Paul Price, Billy Hale, . . .John W. Grant and others. Such small but vocal groups maintain a great deal of control. These comments reflect a fairly widespread opinion backed up by an examination of the procedural by-laws of the organization which concludes that because only a small portion of ministers actually attend General Conference the result is that the UPC is ‘a minority policy making organization.’ The high figures estimate that less than one-seventh of the ministerial constituency were present for the discussion on this issue at the Salt Lake City General Conference.– Thomas A. Fudge

This is your chance to receive a used copy of Christianity Without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism by Thomas Fudge, a former United Pentecostal Church member, whose father is an ordained minister in the organization. It’s available to order from Amazon for $29.95 for the paperback or $28.00 for the Kindle version. Fudge interviewed over 200 people and thoroughly documents information concerning their history. One thing you rarely see mentioned is the fact that one of the two groups which formed the UPC was not as hard line in beliefs as the UPC is today. Some believed a person was saved when they came to God in repentance. This can be seen in the very first edition of their official publication, The Pentecostal Herald, where they invited differing articles on the “new birth.”

To view the first 25 pages of his book go here. You may read an article from a Canadian newspaper which described the then forthcoming book as well as an article by Thomas Fudge concerning why he wrote the book.

This giveaway is a drawing and not a first come, first served giveaway. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on Saturday, October 26 at 8pm (eastern time), after which I will draw the winner. You will then need to email me your mailing address if I do not already have it. Watch your spam email folder. There is absolutely no cost to enter. Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as they require approval when you are commenting for the first time.

We always provide these at no charge to our readers.

********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

Click to access the login or register cheese
YouTube
YouTube
Set Youtube Channel ID
x  Powerful Protection for WordPress, from Shield Security
This Site Is Protected By
ShieldPRO